Day 055: Traditions

And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  Mark 2:27-28

This verse bears an important message that gets lost many times in the Church.  We like to get caught up in our traditions and customs many times, making sure that everybody around us takes part in them, but we often forget what they're there for.  Just as the Sabbath was made for humankind, so are the fasts, the feasts, and traditions.

Don't get me wrong, I love traditional worship - the older, the better.  But, we do have a problem with how we ostracize those who don't always celebrate the way that we do.  I remember when I was a part of certain Facebook groups, people used them as grounds merely to complain about how terrible modern worship is, how music is falling apart in the Church and how liturgical worship is being desecrated by Father X and Mother Y.  Yet, what does Jesus have to say about this?

We like to point our fingers when we have nothing else to do, and that's a big issue in our spiritual life.  When we come to church, we have to remember that it is not we who are in control, but God.  Yet, that seems to be a problem for many, if not all, of us at some point.  We may be used to running things at home, at our jobs, at school, in our ensembles, our troops, our businesses, but when we come to church, we are no longer in control.  We come together to worship God, not to worship ourselves.  Just look at the politicians who are running all over this country if you want to find an example of self worship.  Follow only them if that's all you want to do.

We as a church need to start acknowledging that we worship the triune, living God, the God who moves all of us in many different ways.  Maybe we can't behold everything that is God at the moment, but through God's grace in the form of revelations, we can learn a little more every single day.  During this season of Lent, ask your fellow Christians about what they are doing, if they are willing to share.  Let this season be one where you will do much more observing and listening than forcing.